1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to purchasing systems and more specifically to a system and method for automated previewing and purchasing of products via a remote communications medium.
2. Related Art
The retail industry is one of the largest industries in the U.S. and global markets. Billions of dollars are spent in the retail industry each year by consumers throughout the world. Entrepreneurs and retailers have for years been attempting to capture a larger and larger share of this expanding retail market.
Historically, retailers provided their services in very traditional ways. In one situation, a retailer established a store where customers could visit, peruse the merchandise and make purchases. In this situation, customers had to visit the stores in order to purchase the products. This form of retailing is still one of the most prominent forms of retailing today. The evolution of this form of retailing into the shopping mall, some would argue, has provided increased convenience to shoppers in that numerous different types of products are offered "all under one roof."
A variation on this retail store theme is practiced by local street vendors. You would be hard-pressed to pass a busy urban downtown street corner without running across a street vendor. This is especially true in areas where tourists are plentiful. These vendors offer numerous products to passing pedestrians including food items, T-shirts and other miscellaneous items. Well known, of course, are the corner hot dog and pretzel vendors, whose products can be seen and smelled, but not tasted until purchased.
Another historical method of retailing was practiced by retailers who came to be known as "traveling salesman." These peddlers would travel from city to city, and set up a display in the town center, hawking their wares to interested townsfolk. Some of these retailers followed less than scrupulous business practices in that the products they offered rarely lived up to their promised value. The products offered by these hucksters came to be known as "snake oil cures." These remedies and elixirs were often "tested" by the salesman's accomplice, but the real customers never got to sample the products until after they made a purchase. In most instances, the salesman had already moved on to the next town before his patrons tried the product and realized that they had been duped. Needless to say, not all traveling salesmen were dishonest and, in fact, some offered very good products.
Another form of retailing is carried out by a "door-to-door" salesman. These retailers got their name because they traveled from door-to-door, peddling their products directly to the customer in the customer's home. Depending on the product offered, customers often had the opportunity to try out the product before purchasing. Many businesses who offer door-to-door service are still in operation today, offering numerous products from vacuum cleaners to household cleaning and food products.
It may appear that the door-to-door method of retailing offers the utmost in convenience to the shopper. In fact, in many cases, this is true. However, there are also many instances where residents feel intruded upon when door-to-door salesman come calling unannounced.
One form of retailing that has grown tremendously in recent times is the "shop-at-home-by-telephone" method. Using this retailing strategy, potential customers are provided with product information in the form of literature such as catalogs and fliers. Additionally, some retailers advertise by radio and television as well. When the customer determines that he or she would like to order a product, the customer dials a toll-free number, speaks to a sales person and orders a product. The customer either provides a credit card number over the phone, mails a check or money order to the retailer, or accepts the product C.O.D.
A more recent variation of the shop-at-home-by-telephone technique is the shop-by-television technique. Home shopping services which advertise their products via the television have of late enjoyed widespread popularity. Shoppers of these services watch advertisements of the products for sale and call in to order the desired products.
Some traditional shop-at-home-by-telephone techniques suffer one or more additional shortcomings. One shortcoming is that the customer must speak with a customer service representative to complete the sale. This requires a full staff of representatives on hand to answer calls. Additionally, if the service wants to operate 24 hours-a-day, the representatives must be on staff during these times.
The most recent retailing endeavors allow shoppers to browse through available products offered using the Internet. These services allow shop-at-home convenience without having to pick up the telephone.
Depending on the retail environment and on the products offered for sale, the customer may not be afforded the opportunity to inspect or sample the products to the level he or she desires. Shop-at-home-by-telephone retailing offers no opportunity for inspection or sampling of products. Customers have to rely on catalog pictures or descriptions when deciding which products to purchase.
Radio and television advertisements typically fail to give consumers an adequate sampling of the product. Often, products advertised on the television are shown only very briefly and are usually portrayed using ideal lighting, select camera angles and other techniques to enhance the appeal of the product. In many instances, the customer does not get an adequate appreciation for the true nature of the product. Radio advertisements for music selections usually only play the music as a background to the announcer's voice. Also, the customer is not allowed to sample other music selections, but is limited to hearing those selections advertised by the sponsors. In summary, neither radio nor television advertsing allows customers to adequately inspect products prior to purchase.
Even within retail stores there are some products which are not readily inspectable. Where a customer is purchasing clothing, toys, tools, etc. he or she has the ability to inspect the merchandise in the store before making a purchase. However, certain products that are sealed or that require a playback device, such as music, videos, video games, software, etc. typically cannot be examined. Some stores, such as music stores, video rental stores and software stores have sample selections playing for the customer to enjoy.
Other retail stores set up listening booths, in-store juke boxes, sample computers, or other like trial stations where customers can sample some of the available products. However, due to the costs of installing and maintaining these trial stations, the floor space they consume, and the cost of having inventory available at these stations, the variety of products available for sampling is usually quite limited.
Thus, one shortcoming common to all of the above-mentioned retail techniques is that they do not offer the consumer with an adequate opportunity to inspect or sample the offered products in a convenient and/or economical fashion.